The present invention relates to solar energy conversion apparatus and, more particularly, to improvements in solar energy collectors of the trough reflector variety.
Considerable time and effort is presently being expended in determining the feasibility of utilizing the sun's energy as a means for providing the heating and power needs of home and industry. While there is little question that know-how exists for converting solar energy into vast quantities of heat and electrical energy, the principle stumbling block confronting widespread commercial use of the sun's rays for such purposes is one of economics. Because of the high costs associated with the manufacture of efficient solar energy converters of a practical size, the economics still favor the use of conventional fossil fuels.
A major factor contributing to the relatively high cost of solar energy converters is the cost associated with the manufacture of the collector component; i.e., the reflector or lens which acts to collect and focus solar rays to form a region of intense heat. To produce significant quantities of heat or electrical energy from solar energy, collectors of substantial size are required. To satisfy this requirement, large trough-shaped reflectors have been proposed and, in some instances, are being utilized as the collector element. While such reflectors are substantially less expensive than refractive elements of comparable light-gathering power, their manufacturing costs are, for the size required, still at a level which renders large-scale energy production economically non-feasible. To date, trough reflectors have been conceived and/or made of glass, space-frame structures and segmented sheets, or molded composite plastic materials. See, for instance, the trough reflector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,738 to Caplan. Such conventional reflectors are not only difficult to fabricate, but also they require the use of relatively expensive materials. As a consequence, none is economically attractive.
Thus, one of the problems which must be solved before today's solar energy converters can become commercially attractive is one of producing a low-cost solar energy collector of suitable size and focusing qualities.